Call Me Old Fashioned But... It's my body and I'll eat what I want to

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The human species has long had a nasty
habit of condemning things it does not
understand. Any sign of difference or nonconformity
seems to lead to the eruption of
shit storms largely fuelled by personal
attacks, as opposed to factual evidence. And
so, it was my public display of pride in relation
to my choice to lead a vegan lifestyle
that resulted in insults, from me being
labelled a member of the gay community, to
part of some elitist anti-human vegan society
to a supporter of the extremist actions
undertaken by the animal activist group
PETA. For the record, I am none of the
above. But more importantly, vegetarianism
and veganism are actually nothing new, nor
are they really as "radical" as one may presume.

The human body, in its modern form is,
believe it or not, best tailored to digest plant
materials over anything else. For starters,
neither our saliva nor stomachs are acidic
enough environments to properly break
down flesh; hence cramping, constipation
and indigestion are common ailments associated
with the consumption of meat.
Perhaps more obviously, if we take a gander
at our dental records or the lack of claws
extending from our fingertips, we'll see that
our delicate constitutions are very different
from those possessed by carnivorous animals.

If that weren't proof enough, it has been
documented that ingesting too much protein,
particularly of the animal variety, can lead to
kidney impairment, nutritional deficiency,
osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer, obesity,
tissue, organ and cell damage, not to mention
faster aging! As noted in New York
Times bestseller Skinny Bitch, "People in
cultures that consume half the amount of
protein that North Americans do, tend to live
longer, healthier lives."

When it comes to the dairy side of things,
sorry, cheese lovers, I've got some equally
disheartening news: 96 per cent of Asians,
35 per cent of African Americans and 19 per
cent of Caucasians are lactose intolerant.
Another seven per cent of the human population
is allergic to the proteins in cow's
milk. As for "milk doing the body good"?
According to studies conducted by Harvard,
Yale, Penn State, and the National Institutes
of Health, dairy products have been linked to
acne, anemia, anxiety, arthritis, attention
deficit disorder, fibromyalgia, headaches,
heartburn, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome,
joint pain, osteoporosis, poor
immune function, allergies, ear infections,
colic, obesity, heart disease, diabetes,
autism, Crohn's disease and breast, prostate
and ovarian cancers. Sound familiar?
Further, there is no other animal species in
all of nature that continues to ingest milk or
milk by-products past infancy, let alone the
milk products of another animal.

None of this, of course, even begins to
touch upon the horror that is "factory farming"
and all of the hormones, antibiotics, and
toxins you're ingesting as a consequence of
wanting to eat meat and dairy products.
True, non-organic plant products are not free
of harmful chemical pesticides either.
However, as noted in, Diet for a Poisoned
Planet, "Of all the toxic chemicals found in
food, 95 to 99 per cent come from meat, fish,
dairy and eggs." Moreover, The Journal of
Clinical Nutrition and The New England
Journal of Medicine concluded that "Meat
eaters are much more likely to be overweight
than vegetarians," as a consequence of the
coupling of the aforementioned toxins with
animal fats. Oh but wait, haven't you been
told your whole life that you wouldn't get
enough nutrients from merely eating plants?
That it'd lead to lethargy, nutritional deficiencies
and a depressed psyche? Wrong
again!

Nutritional experts outline a healthy diet
as one consisting of approximately 60 per
cent complex carbs, 20 per cent lean proteins
and 20 per cent unsaturated fats. Please note
that this goal can be achieved by both meat
and plant eaters. In fact, there are many vegetarian
protein substances, such as quinoa,
that are not only far more nutrient- and protein-
rich than meats and dairy products, but
further are packed with all eight essential
amino acids.

I believe in living in harmony with my
body's needs, and it is for that reason and
that reason alone that I made the switch to
veganism. I don't drink caffeine if I'm tired,
and I don't believe in forcing myself to
ingest human-created toxins in order to aid
in the digestion of something that my body
naturally wishes to reject. The very thought
of another hypothetical creature higher up on
the food chain harvesting my eggs for a nice
morning breakfast makes my stomach more
than turn. It's weird when you think about it,
isn't it? The things that we're eating … but I
digress.

With all that said, I'd like to add one final
caveat: let it be known that I'm no health
expert, nor am I in the business of trying to
use scare tactics on any of you to make the
switch to a lifestyle that I have chosen for
myself. It's your body, eat what you want to!
However, if you care about your health, I
highly recommend you read up or watch
some docs on this stuff. I know for me, it
was more than I could stomach.

If you're on board with everything I've
just overviewed, and the only excuse you've
got preventing you from "following your
gut" in regard to making wiser food choices
is that it's too expensive to go vegan and/or
organic, I hate to break it to you but you're
wrong again! Because organic vegan foods
are so much more nutrient-rich than anything
else on the market, you'll find you'll
get full consuming smaller portions, necessitating
the purchasing of less food on a regular
basis. I rest my case.